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A Mother in a Refugee Camp Chinua Achebe Edexcel Certificate Anthology Section C An introduction to the poem, by Miss Healy. You will need: Your anthology Paper, pens and highlighters Access to the internet. When you see this post-it note, it means you will need to do something! Perhaps make a note, or mind-map, or annotateor even just to think.

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Useful vocabulary 0 Refugee (title): someone forced to leave their country 0 Madonna (line 1): a name for the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, often depicted in paintings and sculpture holding the baby Jesus (the Child) 0 Odors (line 4) (American spelling): smells 0 Diarrhea (line 4) (American spelling): condition of excessive frequent and loose bowel movements, often associated with illness and disease 0 Labored (line 6) (American spelling): moving with difficulty; requiring hard work 0 Ceased (line 8): stopped 0 Consequence (line 18): importance, significance Annotate your poem with your new vocabulary. (Notice that Achebe uses American spellings be careful to remember this when quoting!)

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A mother and child 0 What images come to mind when you think of these words: mother and child Make a list or mind- map you decide what learning style works best for you.

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A mother in a refugee camp 0 Now think about what images comes to your mind when you place the mother and child in a refugee camp Make a list or mind- map you decide what learning style works best for you.

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A mother and child imagery and symbolism Madonna and Child: iconic image, the ultimate symbol of motherly love, tenderness, care, affectionand death and sacrifice No Madonna and Child could touch Her tenderness for a son She soon would have to forget. The powerful opening lines establish the theme of the poem: the power of a mothers love (almost Saintly?), even in the face of death (the setting of the title = refugee camp) Just think about the images. Later, when looking at the poem, consider how the poet uses imagery.

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A Mother In A Refugee Camp No Madonna and Child could touch Her tenderness for a son She soon would have to forget.... The air was heavy with odors of diarrhea, Of unwashed children with washed-out ribs And dried-up bottoms waddling in labored steps Behind blown-empty bellies. Other mothers there Had long ceased to care, but not this one: She held a ghost-smile between her teeth, And in her eyes the memory Of a mothers pride.... She had bathed him And rubbed him down with bare palms. She took from their bundle of possessions A broken comb and combed The rust-colored hair left on his skull And thenhumming in her eyesbegan carefully to part it. In their former life this was perhaps A little daily act of no consequence Before his breakfast and school; now she did it Like putting flowers on a tiny grave. The poem Read the poem, out loud, two or three times. Think about ideas we have already covered.

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Close analysis, poetic devices A Mother In A Refugee Camp 1 No Madonna and Child could touch 2 Her tenderness for a son 3 She soon would have to forget.... 4 The air was heavy with odors of diarrhea, 5 Of unwashed children with washed-out ribs 6 And dried-up bottoms waddling in labored steps 7 Behind blown-empty bellies. Other mothers there 8 Had long ceased to care, but not this one: 9 She held a ghost-smile between her teeth, 10 And in her eyes the memory 11 Of a mothers pride.... She had bathed him 12 And rubbed him down with bare palms. 13 She took from their bundle of possessions 14 A broken comb and combed 15 The rust-colored hair left on his skull 16 And thenhumming in her eyesbegan carefully to part it. 17 In their former life this was perhaps 18 A little daily act of no consequence 19 Before his breakfast and school; now she did it 20 Like putting flowers on a tiny grave. Simile: equates what is usually a daily routine for a mother into now being an act of grief and love for a childs death; the image is filled with pathos. Metaphor of a ghost signals death, not just for the child but also for the mother. Is her smile now a ghost- smile because she is now a ghost of her former self, before her life in a refugee camp? Metaphor of rust connotes decay the childs life is ebbing away. Rust also suggests dirty and an almost painful process. Religious imagery: iconic image of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Religious connotations, likening the mother to a saint. Consider that Jesus died a tragic and brutal death, witnessed by his mother. Look also at the images of washing (away our sins?) and the words daily act remind you of a Christian prayer? Sensory imagery with the smells of the camp depicted. The air is described as being heavy with the smells the metaphor creates an atmosphere of being claustrophobic and overwhelming. Words connected to time show how different life once was for this woman and her child. Words of broken such as the comb, the hair that is left, the half smile, the bodies. This is a world that is broken. Have your poem next to you and annotate.

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SCASI Setting A refugee camp. Does our setting affect our personalities? Does this setting change the mothers? Does it change this particular mother? Character A mother and her son. How is this mother different to the other mothers? Action A mother combing her sons rust-colored hair. The narrator remembers how she used to bathe him. Look at all the mothers actions; look at the verbs used by Achebe to describe what she does for her child. What do they reveal about her as a mother? This little act is noticeable as an act of love in the face of death. Style One continuous stanza, a never-ending painful story? The run-on lines (enjambment) suggest time is running out, speeding by Ellipis are used to signal different moments in time. Ideas Over to you. What do you think the poet was hoping to make the reader think or feel when they read the poem? Why do you think Achebe wrote this particular poem? Think about words such as innocence, loss, death, suffering, love, pride, social justice and injustice. Make notes on the setting in the poem. Where, Why, What, etc. Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY WHAT effects was the poet hoping to achieve with his setting choices. Make notes on the setting in the poem. Where, Why, What, etc. Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY WHAT effects was the poet hoping to achieve with his setting choices. Make a SCASI table. Ask questions for each section, rather than simply copying down what I have said. Asking questions will require you to ACTIVELY engage with the poem and come up with your own, individual and personal interpretations this is where the A*s come from! NOW click to remove this note and reveal the full screen. Make notes on the characters portrayed in the poem. Who, What, Where, Why... Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY WHAT effects was the poet hoping to achieve with his character choices. Make notes on the characters portrayed in the poem. Who, What, Where, Why... Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY WHAT effects was the poet hoping to achieve with his character choices. Make notes on the actions that occur in the poem. Look for verbs. Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY WHAT effects was Achebe hoping to achieve with the movement / action in the poem. Make notes on the actions that occur in the poem. Look for verbs. Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY WHAT effects was Achebe hoping to achieve with the movement / action in the poem. Make notes on how the poem has been written. Think about structure, rhythm, specific word choices. Does it seem formal or informal, chatty, sombre, melancholy, sad? Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY WHAT effects was Achebe hoping to achieve with the structure, punctuation and devices choices in the poem. Ideas comes last in SCASI for a reason once you have considered Setting, Character, Action and Style, you should then be able to think, quite easily, about Ideas this means themes. Make notes on WHY the poem has been written. What are the big issues, ideas, messages, concerns you think the poet wants the reader to be left thinking about after reading the poem? Remember to always consider WHAT choices the poet made, and WHY.

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Chinua Achebe biography 0 Nigerian poet and novelist. 0 Born 1930. 0 One of the most important living African writers. 0 Interested in politics; much of his writing considers social and political problems facing his country. 0 His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958) (you MUST read!), was hugely successful, selling between 8-12 million copies, and translated into 45 languages. 0 Although he writes in English, he incorporates African narratives into his work. 0 Has been criticised for writing in English using the language of colonisers. Do you agree? Make some notes. Id also recommend your own research on Achebe.

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Extension? 0 Read Things Fall Apart. Its a very short novel, and is a fantastic, and easy, read. Millions of readers around the world cant be wrong! 0 Conduct your own research on Achebe. 0 Try a Thinking Hats approach to the poem, or other poems in the anthology. 0 Create an imagery mind-map or story board, recreating the images presented in the poem. 0 Visit the following website where a teacher has annotated the poem, line by line: 0 http://mrhoyesgcsewebsite.com/Coursework/Section%20C/ Refugee/Tracked%20Poems/Refugee%20Mother%20and%2 0Child%20-%20Christine.pdf http://mrhoyesgcsewebsite.com/Coursework/Section%20C/ Refugee/Tracked%20Poems/Refugee%20Mother%20and%2 0Child%20-%20Christine.pdf Do you want to know more? If yes, then try some of the following: